Press release about Obama and Jobs

DATE             January 14, 2008                        

CONTACT     James K. Pedderson, Director of Public Relations

                        Office:   312-332-5790

                        

Mobile

:  847-567-1463

                        E-mail:   jamespedderson@challengergray.com

For Release Upon Receipt

Challenger Presidential Election Survey:

OBAMA,

CLINTON

BELIEVED BEST FOR JOBS

CHICAGO

– With voters becoming more concerned about economic issues as they cast their ballots in upcoming primaries, a new survey of job seekers found that the presidential contenders believed to be the most beneficial for the job market are Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

The survey was conducted by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. among 500 callers during the first day of its 22^nd annual two-day free job search advice call-in conducted by Challenger last month.   Respondents were asked which presidential hopeful they believed would be the best candidate for the job market. 

Barack Obama was selected by 21 percent of callers as the candidate who will have the most positive impact on the job market.  Hillary Clinton was a close second with 20.3 percent of job seekers’ votes.  Another 13.2 percent were unsure, and John Edwards was a distant third, with 9.9 percent of callers saying he would be the best candidate for the job market.

  The remaining 29 percent of responses was split among several Republican candidates, with Mitt Romney leading the pack among 9.3 percent of callers.  Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was seen by 7.7 percent of callers as being good for the job market.

“When the campaigning started a year ago, the big issues were the war in

Iraq

and immigration.  However, an ongoing housing slump, which has resulted in millions of foreclosures, plummeting home values and volatility in the financial sector, has a growing number of voters worried about the economy, job security and their pocketbooks,” said John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. 

“At the moment, the job seekers calling for advice still seemed to be relatively optimistic about the current job market, despite some indications that the economy and job creation are beginning to slow.” 

Job seekers, in fact, are more optimistic about the job market now than they were in 2006.  In the Challenger survey of call-in participants, 25 percent believed they would find a job in one to two months, up from 16 percent in 2006.  Fewer than 12 percent of callers thought their job searches would extend beyond six months, compared to 28 percent in 2006.

“As candidates continue to campaign, especially on the heels of the

Michigan

and

South Carolina

primaries, they will have more opportunities to discuss the economy and the job market in 2008.  Voters will also have more information from the candidates to make educated decisions.  It will be interesting to see if voters continue their optimistic outlook into 2008,” said Challenger.

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